Will of the Oath Breaker
by James Tuddrussell
Summary: Naruto's path had led him to the The Nine Tailed Fox early, for better or worse the choices these two make shall have vast repercussions. Watch as Naruto strives to balance the fire with the dark, and learns the lessons that every good hero needs.
1. Prologue

Will of the Oath Breaker

Prologue

As the moon, so too are the paths of chosen souls. Waxing, full, and waning. Hero, god, and demon.

Bound together in an endless and inevitable loop. Such is the way of things: The one in the many, the many of the one.

The destruction around him thrilled his very essence. Lord of Chaos indeed! But there was a point to this madness. He understood what he must do.

He approached the tiny mortal who dared challenge him alone, riding on the head of a toad, unimpressive in his ancient eyes, and accepted the inevitable.

With a mournful look, and a passion befitting his legend. The Forth did what must be done.


	2. Chapter One

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter One: An adventure begins

A young boy was running down the street to make it to class on time, and, unbeknownst to most passersby, something important just happened. It is not the case here, that this important thing was a grand spectacle. As with most important events in any person's life, it was an everyday decision that people rarely even think about.

The boy, who was called Naruto, decided that roof-hopping was the fastest way to get to school.

Naruto scaled the wall of the nearest building and swung himself onto the roof, and began his hopping spree. The school was in sight, and Naruto sighed in relief that he wasn't going to miss his first day at the Ninja Academy. But now distracted, the youth tumbled onto the street.

Naruto landed on a fruit cart, which understandably angered the owner. However, the look of pure disgust Naruto got when the owner saw his yellow mop of hair and whisker marks was mostly unrelated to his lost profit. The angry rant that followed, drew a crowd to the scene. No one was quite sure when the curious bystanders became an angry mob, but it may have been after someone commented on Naruto's attendance at the Academy. Or perhaps it started after Naruto tried to run away, and someone thought he was attacking. But either way, an angry mob against an emaciated seven year old without proper training was unlikely to end well. Naruto, went into shock after the first few of his ribs were broken by all the kicking to his small frame. Which, all things considered was a good thing especially when a pair of Chūnin arrived on the scene, who, judging by the fire jutsu they cast, were not there to help Naruto.

Naruto awoke, confused, in a large stone-lined hallway. The lights seemed a little dim, and there appeared to be a leak somewhere. Naruto felt oddly at home here, but there was also a sense of unease about the place. Naruto wondered if the mob threw him into the sewers, thinking he had died, before noticing a dim light at the end of the hallway. He ran down the hallway, trying to get to the light, passing doors that were too many and too grand for the sewers, he thought absently as he went by. Approaching where he thought the light had come from, he reached the grandest door of all.

He felt as though he was entering a territory not his own.

Considering its size, opening the door was surprisingly easy, and Naruto found himself briefly reconsidering going through the door. It was almost as if the simple act of opening this door was of more importance than it seemed. But being a child, Naruto barely paused to consider the consequences.

The room was massive in size, Naruto thought it must be what a palace was like, but completely bare. At the back of the room was a cage. He couldn't explain it, but it made him nervous. Naruto approached the cage, dreading what lay beyond, but curious enough to go on. The cage appeared to hold nothing but shadow, though Naruto knew that something lurked within. Naruto was shocked to see the form of a large beast emerge from the dark. The beast gazed upon Naruto with curious milky ember eyes. They appeared to consider Naruto for a time before narrowing, as the beast snarled. Naruto's steps faltered as he approached the cage.

"**Yes, come closer kid**," a voice boomed. Naruto felt the vibrations of the beast's growl run through his body. Suddenly, the beast's claws swiped at Naruto. Only the bars on the cage saved him. Everything in Naruto's body was telling him to run, to get away from that _thing_, but he couldn't move away from the cage. "**I'd like to eat you, but this damn seal...**"

"What" He couldn't seem to find his voice.

"**What am I? My host doesn't know about me? What kind of village is your Hokage running?**" The word Hokage was spat, like it left a bad taste in the beast's mouth.

Naruto scrunched up his face, confused. "How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"**Because ****I am the Nine-tailed Demon Fox** **sealed within you.**"

The slow water drip in the hallway seemed to echo more loudly than it had a moment ago. Naruto was flabbergasted. He had heard the stories; the monster that Yondaime gave his life to defeat, that had killed so many villagers. And if the stories were wrong if the beast was the fox, alive and sealed _within_ him? All of a sudden, the looks, the hate, the eyes of the villagers made sense.

"**Yes, ****it has been my presence that has caused you such hardship****.**"

Naruto thought about what the Nine-tails had told him. So he didn't just have bad luck?

**"****What if I trained you, so that you could actually defend yourself against the villagers?**"

"What do you want? Nothing comes free." Naruto had learned that lesson painfully. The demon fox smirked; this kid passed his first test. His eyes burst into flames, and what was once milky had become blood scarlet.

"**Let's take advantage of the fact that time moves differently here, while you are in a coma, and begin your training.**"

The Nine-tails never wondered whether he should tell Naruto the whole truth. He wasn't ready for the responsibility of his fate yet.

...To be continued


	3. Chapter Two

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Two: Training and Trepidation

Naruto opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling. He tried to move but found it remarkably difficult. He wondered how much time had passed outside the walls of his mind. It seemed such a long time since he had first met the Nine-tails, who kept his training focused on theory until Naruto awoke from his coma. He tried to sense his 'Kitsune-sensei's' presence, but all he came up with was indistinct rumbling.

**"That's normal, kid. You're still recovering from your injuries, which were extensive, you are also under heavy sedation. ****It will be easier for me to connect to you.****"**

Naruto tried to vent his frustration, but it came out as soft groaning.

"**Don't try to talk just yet, wait until the sedatives wear off. I'm sure that someone will be along shortly."**

Naruto spent the next few hours, directed by the Kyuubi, trying to test his muscle movement. In the middle of stretching his arms above his head, the Hokage walked in the door. Seeing his ward was awake, Sarutobi smiled.

"I see you're awake. Good. You've been under for two months."

Naruto smiled as best he could, and said, "Hi, old man."

"Now that you're doing a bit better, we can get to the important part. I have reinstated your status as an Academy student, and you should be able to attend classes in a week's time. But, for now, you need to get used to moving around again, and to the waking world once more."

After a quick check-up by the Hokage's personal medic Naruto was cleared to leave.

_::: _

Having been declared healthy, Naruto started going to classes, and soon found all his free time being spent in one of the local training grounds, being taught by Kitsune-Sensei. It became routine for older nin to stumble upon Naruto, mostly looking like he was staring off into space.

**"Now kid****, y****ou may have more chakra than an entire gaggle of brats your age, but you also have no real control over it, making it mostly useless. To remedy this situation I have decided to teach you your first jutsu, but remember that it will not come easily. It is called The Shadow Fist, and it is the first technique in The Shadow Strike series of jutsu.** **But** **this jutsu is ****not only a ninjutsu attack, but** **a way of training****, though it is not a 'true' jutsu in its own right****."**

Naruto fidgeted from excitement finally he got learn cool jutsu!

**"****Basically t****his jutsu ****involves** **is** **channelling shadow chakra into your fists, and then punching something. This, if done correctly, will crush pretty much anything it comes in contact with. I****t may sound easy,** **but don't underestimate this jutsu****. C****ombined with brute strength, or vast speed it can enhance Genin level taijutsu to being on par with that of a Chūnin."**

Naruto looked on with a wide-eyed expression of awe.

**"Learning the technique is easy, it's making it efficient that's the hard part. Once you get the technique down, you need to gradually lessen the amount of shadow chakra you add, until you find the minimum needed."**

Naruto thought about this and asked, "If this jutsu is so easy to learn, and has such great effects, then why isn't it taught to everyone?'' He could feel the Kyūbi's smirk.

"**That's simple: Virtually no one can ****use** **manipulate** **shadow chakra, and trying to use regular chakra in this way would just blow up your hands** **unless you had amazing chakra control****.**

"But how do I use shadow chakra?"

**"****J****ust channel a bit of chakra, then get a feel for the natures within, until you find some chakra that feels 'shadowy.' That's the best way I can describe it, you'll know it when you feel it.**

Naruto nodded, and got to work finding the elusive shadow chakra. Focusing on his core, he began feeling around. All he could feel was the rush that his chakra normally had. Peering deeper he began to notice that it was not one coherent whole as he had always thought, but rather a gurgling, churning mixture of chakras. He had always thought of his chakra as being dark purple, but he began separating the chakra into four distinct streams. One of red, one of blue, one of white, and one of black. Kyuubi, sensing Naruto's confusion, spoke to him.

"**The red is fire chakra, you got that from me. The blue is water chakra, and the white is wind chakra, you most likely inherited those. The black chakra is the shadow chakra, you also got that from me."**

Naruto wondered about what he meant by 'inherited,' but followed his instructions and pooled the black chakra into his fists. Naruto found that it was much easier to find the black chakra the second time. Naruto ran over to a stump and punched with all his might, the stump shattered into a rain of wood chips, but Naruto wouldn't get to see his results because he passed out from chakra exhaustion.

_:::_

Naruto practised the jutsu every day that week, and then every other day for the first month of the academy before he got the amount of chakra used by the technique down to levels where he could use it in a fight without passing out. After which he moved on to learning the shadow kick, and to enhancing strikes from his knees, elbows, and head. He mastered this in less than two months, once he got the shadow fist mastered it was easy to apply what he learned there to other things. A year passed before the Kyūbi thought he was ready to move onto weapons training.

"**When using a blunt weapon you can enhance it just like you would your arm or leg, but a sharp weapon is different. You need to first pool shadow chakra into the blade, which is something you should always be doing when using a cutting weapon** **as it will keep it sharp****,** **and make it more resistant to damage.**** I****t will not make your attacks do any more damage, however. For that you need to add wind****-natured** **chakra****. T****his will be a little difficult, but the results will be worth it. ****This combination will make the chakra grey** **and** **will take a cheap** **cutting ****weapon****,** **and allow it to behave as if it were master****-****crafted. It will slice through damn near anything, and most importantly will stop doing so the moment you wish. Thus making it useless in the hands of your enemies."**

Naruto grinned, wishing he could start going on missions to really try it out. He found the two chakras in his core, then tried to pool and merge them together. He passed out before he had enough for even one blow, and this alone would take a week of practice, before he could even begin to utilize the pooled chakra. After choosing to focus his weapons training on using a katana, Naruto split his training between focusing his control over the grey chakra and getting his kenjustu to acceptable levels.

At the Ninja Academy, he had been scoring high marks in taijutsu and armed combat. and Because of the tutoring that the Fox had been giving him, he had also been getting good marks in history and tactics. Which left genjutsu, ninjutsu, stealth, and interrogation to work on.

The Kyūbi felt that stealth was a good a place as any to begin, and thus Naruto took up pranking, which may have been one of the more unusual training methods, but still helped immensely.

...To be continued


	4. Chapter Three

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Three: Madame Yuuhi

It was once again graduation season, and Iruka didn't know where the past couple of years had gone. He reviewed his placement chart, and was pleased to see that Naruto was in the lower middle range of his class for his grade average, which qualified him for placement on Team Eight. He knew that Kurenai, despite her recent jounin promotion, would be a good teacher for Naruto if he could pass her test.

He began announcing the new genins' to their team assignments, and was a bit disturbed by the flash of killing intent he felt when he got to Naruto's placement. He peered in the direction he thought it came from, but only saw Mizuki, and wrote it off as graduation-day jitters.

Hinata nearly fainted after hearing that Naruto would be on her team.

Shino was able to guess that Naruto would be on his team by his apparent grades. He resigned himself to keeping an eye on his new team mate.

Kiba interrupted everyone's thoughts with his indignant shouting, after it was explained that he had the worst grades. Iruka looked at Kiba with an annoyed expression.

"You skip classes, refuse to do your written tests, and failed your stealth test. The only reason you passed was because you scored remarkably well in taijutsu, teamwork, and ninjutsu."

Kiba settled down a little bit after Iruka's explanation, but still seemed annoyed with his placement.

Kurenai walked into the small classroom, and with a brief sweep of her red eyes, she found her genin as they gathered before her. Kurenai smiled warmly and greeted her new team. She introduced herself, and told them to meet her at the training grounds so they could all get to know one another. Like the other jounin instructors, she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto left the Academy grounds, and fell into a brisk trot on the path leading to training ground sixteen. Shino showed no signs of fatigue as he trailed behind Naruto. Hinata had been the first to leave the building, but her stamina proved to be lacking. Naruto gave her an encouraging smile when he passed by, which caused Hinata to blush furiously. Only Shino seemed to notice, though no one noticed the amused smirk that was obscured by his jacket.

As the team arrived, Kurenai layered the training area with a few subtle genjutsu just to make the test a bit more interesting. She motioned for them to sit in front of her, near the centre of the grounds in a slight sandy depression next to a small stream.

"Alright, to start things off I will tell you all a little about myself. My name is Kurenai Yuuhi, I like reading, and meditation. My dislikes are ignorance and nonsensicality. My dream is to mold you all into fine ninja."

Kurenai motioned for Shino to introduce himself.

"My name is Shino Aburame, I like entomology. My dislikes are powerful odours, and weak opponents. My dream is to fight strong opponents, and celebrate by eating melon."

Kurenai wondered how his teammates would take to Shino's love of bugs not to mention his clan jutsu. Naruto smirked at how awesome his new friend was.

Kurenai motioned next to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, my likes are ramen and training. My dislikes are when there's not enough ramen and when bugs get into my food." He peered at Shino suspiciously as he shifted uncomfortably, but continued. "My dream is to be Hokage, so I can protect my home, and the people within!" Naruto punctuated his declaration by standing up dramatically.

Kurenai bemusedly tilted her head at that. 'Why does he wish to protect the very villagers who shun him? Maybe he means the ninja of the leaf, and any possible friends, and family he hopes to gain. I hope that my genin can grow to be friends, they all need it.' Kurenai smiled reassuringly, as she asked Hinata to introduce herself.

"M-my name is Hinata Hyuuga... I like... herbal healing, and... m-my dislikes are... hurting others when it is n-not necessary. And my dream is t-to become strong enough to..." After a little while it became apparent that she was too flustered to finish her introduction.

Kurenai directed her genin to make their way to the clearing behind them. As she stood before her team, she said, "There's one last test you need to pass before you are officially become genin. I have invited one of my colleagues to bring his team here so we can see you all in action. Your skills will determine whether or not you are ready to become shinobi of Konoha. You will be fighting, and I fully expect you to win."

The genin got their game faces on, and prepared for combat.

_:::_

They had been led to a separate training ground, and told to fight until they were stopped, or someone is was rendered unable to continue. They had been given blunted kunai, and told not to use deadly weapons, or techniques. Naruto gripped his sword, which he had promised to not take out of its scabbard, standing in front of Chouji. He got into a balanced kenjutsu stance, and readied himself for combat.

After his sensei's clone ordered them to start, Chouji barely dodged Naruto's slash.

_'He's so fast.'_

Chouji blocked a flying kick from Naruto, and grabbed onto his shirt. With his new grip on his opponent, he was able to throw Naruto into a tree.

'That should buy me enough time to use my Human Bullet Tank Jutsu... I hope.'

Chouji morphed into a ball, and started spinning, he hit the ground and shot toward Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto groaned, and dusted himself off. He looked up and saw a giant spinning thing heading at him. He easily dodged Chouji's attack, and jumped into the trees. He hoped this would give him some breathing room, but Chouji just smashed the tree down, forcing Naruto to try his luck out on the clearing. Naruto stared at the rapidly approaching ball intently, he had only one chance to do this, and he needed to time this perfectly. He waited for just the right moment to unleash his shadow strike, but when he pooled the small amount of shadow chakra he needed for the jutsu, Chouji tumbled to a stop.

He got up and groaned. "I don't have enough chakra left to finish you off with my ninjutsu, but I still have taijutsu!"

Chouji ran the rest of the way, and punched at Naruto, only to miss and leave a huge crater where Naruto was just standing. Naruto unleashed his shadow strike on Chouji's back, sending his opponent flying. With a crash Chouji lay in the north side of the field. Naruto was the victor this day.

Asuma's clone looked a bit disappointed that his student didn't win, but he knew Chouji passed Kurenai's test the moment he stopped his jutsu to conserve his chakra. Kurenai's clone smiled, and told Naruto that he had done very well when he jumped into the trees to get away from the danger, and to observe the threat so he could plan his next move. Naruto may have won the fight, but they both passed their tests. Kurenai and Asuma's clones dispelled after instructing Naruto to tend to Chouji, and meet them where their teammates were being tested.

_:::_

Shino peered at his opponent Shikamaru. He made the first move, which caused Shikamaru to smirk. He moved his bishop into an offensive position, parallel to Shino's gold general. Shino retaliated by capturing Shikamaru's lance, but after a dozen or so turns of positioning key pieces Shikamaru was quick to move his knight into position to check Shino's king. Shino moved his king out of check, but he realized that in doing so he had trapped himself. He had no real strategy that could possibly remedy this situation, and so Shikamaru won the game. The match took about an hour. A personal worst for Shikamaru, which put him in a very good mood. He even had to use his thinking stance a few times!

They shook hands, and turned to their respective sensei's clone. Neither were amused.

Shino raised his eyebrow in query. "You stated quite clearly that we were to test our abilities against each other, and we came to the mutual decision that a game of shogi was a more than adequate way to comply with our orders."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "Fighting is far too troublesome anyway."

The two jounin sighed, and then talked to each other quietly. They came to the agreement that they passed the test, but the genin still needed to fight so they could gauge their skill.

"This time we want you to actually fight, just don't kill each other." Asuma-bunshin glared a little to get his point across.

Shino, and Shikamaru both made their displeasure with their orders known, but neither really tried to argue the point further than that. As their actual spar got under way, Shino was quick to snare the shadow user with his bugs, but Shikamaru was able to use the shadow of the swarm to capture Shino. However, Shikamaru was not able to finish his fight because of his disadvantage: he had no way of ending the fight, so Shino would just drain his chakra until he passed out. Shikamaru gave up, because he had no battle plan. Shino helped his new friend over to the jounin for their orders.

_:::_

Hinata stood before Ino thinking about how best to deal with the situation she found herself in. She wouldn't get the chance to come up with a plan before Ino charged, confident in her ability to deal with the 'weaker' kunoichi. Hinata was so busy thinking, that she didn't notice Ino coming, until she was right in front of her. Startled, Hinata instinctively entered her jūken attack stance, and quickly closed tenketsu in Ino's legs. Ino looked shocked, before sloppily jumping back, trying not to let the pain affect her. Hinata was just as surprised as her opponent by what had just happened. Hinata fought the urge to apologize and run to help her. She instead fell into a defensive juuken stance, not noticing the stun tag Ino had dropped near her. Though she was berating herself for using such a risky measure, Ino knew taijutsu wasn't her strong point, and the tag was just the ace up her sleeve. The tag went off, blinding Hinata momentarily, but it was more that enough time for Ino to complete her clan jutsu.

The next thing Ino knew, she was wandering down a hallway in a very traditional house. At the end was a door, and there was a garden to her right. She needed to find the seat of Hinata's mind, from which she could completely control the girl's actions. Everyone's mind-scape is different, though some things remained the same. In every person's mind there was an object that acted as a conduit allowing one to control the body. Ino walked into the garden, and wondered where the 'seat' was. She examined the pond, checking the obvious first. However, the pond only showed memories, feeling nosy Ino watched for a bit. She eventually decided to move on once it became apparent that Hinata's memories centred on her early childhood, and specifically the memories of her mother.

She had heard stories about things like that from her clan's elders. They were called 'windows.' Ino walked around a bit, before coming to a rock. The rock appeared to be perfect for sitting, and she concluded that this must be the 'seat' she was looking for.

She didn't get a chance to take control of Hinata's body, as she was knocked out from behind.

Hinata smirked as she dragged the kunoichi-baka away from the seat. Though Hinata's conscious personality was sweet-tempered, the form of her unconscious incorporated essentially everything she had repressed. She was everything that life had beaten out of Hinata, though, ironically, the Hyuuga Clan would greatly prefer this spectre to her conscious self.

She suddenly looked to her side. Her garden no longer ended at a wooden fence, but shifted into a dimly lit, cavernous room. The water stood tall enough that it soaked the bottoms of her pants. She turned towards a massive set of cage bars, her movement sending ripples of water ahead of her. She sensed another presence within the cage. The spectre quirked her head at the presence, and said, "I live here, this is my home... You should not be here."

**"I suppose this is where I introduce myself."**

Hinata forgot about Ino, and peered at the intruder bemusedly. "What are you? You didn't follow the Yamanaka, and you're not a kami."

The Kyūbi smirked with such unbridled, and narcissistic mirth that it disgusted Hinata. "**Oh****, h****ow could you possibly know that I'm not a 'kami****?****' ****W****hat if****,** **that's exactly what I am?"**

Hinata's eyes hardened at the supposed kami. "Why are you here? What gives you the right to invade Hinata-ue's mind?" 'Hinata' fell into a textbook jūken attack stance.

**As if you could threaten me, mortal. I would, however like to speak with you.****"**

The spectre eyed the intruder suspiciously, but nodded and dropped her hands to her sides.

**"In the simplest terms, I am the spiritual embodiment of chaos, and I ****a****m bound to Naruto's soul."**

This statement floored the spectre Hinata. "But, then how am I seeing you?"

"**Because,** **the two of** **you are soul mates."**

As if the first declaration wasn't enough of a shock. Hinata slumped down, ungracefully, unconcerned by sitting in water. If the embodiment of chaos was bound to Naruto's very soul, his fate would be as great as it was terrible, if the legends had any truth to them. And Naruto was her s-soulmate?

"**C****ontrary to popular belief, being soul mates is not just for lovers. Any two beings that have a suitably strong connection are 'soul mates.' Siblings and friends can be soul mates as well."**

The spectre Hinata nodded dumbly.

"**It's** **the connection** **that allows you to see me as I am. If he tried, Naruto would be able to come here as well****,** **though it ****was** **would be** **rather difficult, as Naruto is only just beginning to forge a connection with you."**

Hinata could barely believe what was happening, and continued to stare at the cage. That was Chaos, a kami. _Inside_ Naruto. Did anyone else know about this? A thought made her pause a moment.

"Why are you telling me this?"

**"I like you, kid. You have so much potential, I'll spare your container, though mostly because I wouldn't want you to come to harm."**

The spectre Hinata wanted to ask so many more questions, but felt her conscious self taking back control. The cage melted away into darkness.

Hinata blinked. 'What happened?' She could see Ino standing up, shakily. She was dizzy, and felt like she was forgetting something. Ino was looking at her strangely, and asked, "Do you remember anything?"

Hinata tried, but it was like trying to catch the rain. "No," she said quietly.

"That's never happened to me before," Ino admitted. Seemingly regaining her confidence, she said, "But I'm still going to win!"

Both the genin groaned as they fell into battle stances. Ino haphazardly threw a kunai in Hinata's direction, and Hinata lethargically rushed forward for a lunge. When they got within striking range, the two of them tried to finish the spar, but decided to go to their sensei as they couldn't fight properly any longer.

The two jounin talked for a while, and decided that the girls showed proper ninja behaviour by retreating, and seeking help when they were unable to continue fighting. They had both been worried that Ino had misused her clan's jutsu when both kunoichi seemed to pass out for a minute. But, as they both woke up, Kurenai sighed in relief that she wouldn't have to call the medics on her first day.

"Alright, you both pass this little test. Now go to training ground sixteen to meet with the rest of your team."

The two kunoichi helped each other hobble to the training ground.

...To be continued


	5. Chapter Four

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Four: Of Seals, and Deals

Naruto felt betrayed. Being a ninja was about learning cool jutsu, going on secret missions, and saving damsels in distress. Not these mind-numbing D-rank missions. Why hadn't anyone told him about these? At least they weren't outside weeding in the hot, summer weather. Naruto and the rest of Team Eight were moving boxes from an apartment, to long term storage. It was rumoured that the person who lived there tried to take a scroll from the Hokage, but was caught by Anbu before he could even get out of the Hokage Tower. What was his name again Misokuki, Matzonaki? Meh, didn't matter, it wasn't important.

"**I think her name was Mitsuki."**

Naruto stopped what he was doing, and had an odd expression on his face. 'I saw a picture of _HIM_, that was totally a guy!'

"**Are you sure? The light features, long supple hair, snakelike contempt, and sparkly come-hither eyes told me differently."**

Naruto tried to think of what the guy looked like, but it was like trying to collect water in his hands.

'Was that a girl?' Naruto tried to think harder, but Kurenai yelled at him to hustle, and to stop holding up traffic.

"Sensei! Who was that person who got nabbed trying to nick the scroll, again?"

Kurenai paused, and thought for a second. "I think it was a small child, yes that seems right. Normally, I pay more attention to these things, but it just didn't seem important."

The two got back to work, lugging too many boxes to count back and forth across Konoha.

_:::_

After a few more weeks of missions, and Naruto was beginning to get restless. He was training with his team and on his own, and was ready for a mission harder than capturing that stupid cat. Naruto was currently lying on the grass of training ground sixteen, breathing heavily, having just completed a series of kenjutsu kata, with weights to increase their difficulty.

**Kid, I think it's time we talk for a moment."**

"Now? I'm too tired. Besides, talking is what we do day in, day out. We're stuck together remember?"

**"We may not always be together."**

"What? How?"

**"When I agreed to train you, I didn't promise that I wouldn't require anything in return."**

"But you didn't set your price then. So, I shouldn't have to do anything."

That was obviously the wrong thing say, as Naruto found himself in front of the Kyūbi's massive cage. The Fox's eyes were burning scarlet, and his snout was contorted with disgust and rage.

**"Do not try to challenge me, child. I granted you knowledge and power, and now it is time you repaid your debt."**

Naruto was still reeling from the sudden shift into his mind. The sheer force with which the Kyūbi spoke reverberated throughout his body and ruffled his hair. After a moment, Naruto found his voice, asking, "What do you want?" He tried to sound more confident than he was, but knew the Kyūbi would be able to tell how scared he was.

**"I want you to release this seal.**** It will allow me a certain amount of freedom, though it will be less like chains, and more like a leash."**

It was in almost a purr, that the Kyūbi made his request. Could he really trust him?

"But you killed so many shinobi before you were sealed."

**"I haven't lied to you yet. Just pull that seal off the cage."**

Naruto approached the cage bars. The Kyūbi was right, he hadn't lied to him _yet_. Did that mean he was lying now? But, he had helped in graduate from the Academy. Naruto began reaching for the seal. If he was still leashed to Naruto, did that mean that he wouldn't kill shinobi anymore? All it would take was a tug. He did feel guilty about accepting his training without giving anything in return. Naruto squared his shoulders, having made up his mind, and tore off the seal.

His world went black.

_:::_

Naruto woke up, groggy and sore. As he looked around him, seeing it was night and he was still at the training grounds, he realized he must have been knocked out from the recoil of releasing the Kyūbi's seal. He tried to look within himself, but he couldn't locate the Fox's presence.

Not even a quiet purr.

A sudden fear struck him what if the Hokage found out what he'd done, and what if he told the villagers? They would do worse this time than put him into a coma for two months.

Naruto gathered his scattered training supplies and rushed home. He needed to sleep; he'd think about it more in the morning. But he already knew one thing: he couldn't tell anyone.

_:::_

Despite the assignment being boring by Anbu standards, the Hokage's personal guards felt honoured to be chosen. Usually it meant keeping out of sight, while noticing every single appointment the Hokage had in a day, but as a strange man entered the outer office, just as the Hokage's secretary left, the Anbu captain smirked and decided some intimidation would be the best opening tactic.

The darkly clothed man stopped suddenly, turned in her direction, and said, "Why hello. I am here to see the Hokage. His face is carved on the large mountain outside, you really can't miss it." His condescending smirk made the Anbu captain sick to her stomach. She quickly flashed her team signs to stay alert.

"Your name and papers."

"What, No small talk? Konoha's hospitality seems to be worse than the last time I was here." The smirk remained, annoyingly, on the stranger's face. Deciding that no one on official business would fear identification, or some personal time with Ibiki, the captain signalled to capture the man. The infuriating man continued to smirk, and didn't resist as he was shackled, and bound.

As they entered the office, the Hokage looked up from his paperwork to see what he assumed was a vagrant in front of him, but he looked underneath the underneath, and saw a glint of deviousness in his eyes, and the smirk of someone far too clever for their own good. Sarutobi dismissed his guard, and secretly activated the room's security seals.

"Who are you, and why are you here?" he asked. The Hokage's instincts were confirmed when the man before him slipped out of confinement, and paused quietly, as if choosing his words wisely.

"My name is not important, you wouldn't know it if I said it anyway. As for my coming here well, I want asylum in Konoha, and a place as a ninja. Preferably with Naruto Uzumaki's troupe."

Sarutobi was alarmed for a moment when he mentioned Naruto. Could this man know about Naruto's burden? He decided to ignore the bait and asked instead, "Why exactly should I grant anything to you?"

"Because there's no reason not to, and you can either have me as a friend, or an enemy."

The Hokage couldn't stop his amused chuckle. "You presume to come to Konoha, into my very office, and threaten me? You're either supremely confident or horribly stupid. If I wouldn't know your name, what are you called?"

The man didn't seem at all offended by Sarutobi's remark, and continued to smirk, as though he was the only one in on a good joke. "Kiro Tenma. There is no real reason for you to not grant me asylum, and you know it. Test me, I could be a valuable addition to your shinobi forces," he said.

Making his decision, Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage stood and said, "Very well, I will grant you asylum here, and shinobi status. But on several conditions only. Firstly, you need to swear that so long as you are a member of this village you will protect it, and its peoples with no less than everything you have. Secondly, you must uphold the rules of shinobi conduct, and the laws of this land, with honour. And thirdly, any transgression will be punished, and the severity of the punishment will be decided solely by me, or the successor to this office. Kiro Tenma, do you so swear?"

Sarutobi noticed only a single breath of hesitation before the man, Kiro Tenma, replied, "I do so swear."

The Hokage looked right into the eyes of his newest recruit and said, "You will be tested tomorrow, to determine your placement within our ranks. Pick up scroll 14B from one of the tellers on the way out, and follow the instructions within. Before I dismiss you, tell me, why did you come here?"

Kiro looked down for the first time since meeting the Hokage. "I came to look for my family," he answered.

The Hokage nodded and said, "Ninja of Leaf, you are dismissed. Scroll 57 will grant you temporary housing until you find something more permanent."

As Kiro turned around, Sarutobi noticed his smirk was back in full force. "Oh don't worry, I already have a place to stay. A friend of a friend you could say." His exit was far less dramatic than his entrance a few minutes ago, as he gave his new leader a short, yet cordial bow.

With a quick sign and a chakra pulse, the Hokage deactivated the privacy seals and his guard returned as quickly as they had left. Penning a quick missive, he addressed them.

"I have new orders for the Hunters they are to deliver this scroll to Jiraya. Make sure they tell him that if he doesn't open the scroll immediately, his publishing license is to be revoked. This mission is of class S importance, and courier ranked."

Sarutobi looked at the Fourth's likeness out of his window, and sighed. _'Sometimes, to face greater threats, you must dance with the devil.'_

...To be continued


	6. Chapter Five

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Five: A trickster's grimoire

Naruto was eating ramen, when there was a knock at his door. Unwilling to stop in the middle of his favourite meal, and expecting Kurenai or one of his teammates, he answered the door with a mouthful of noodles. Which he had to swallow with difficulty when it was a strange man shinobi by his simple dark clothing and Leaf headband instead of his sensei or teammates.

"Who are you?"

"Call me Kiro. I need a place to crash."

Naruto just stared at the guy.

"I'm joining your team, Naruto. Hokage's orders," he said as he tossed a scroll at Naruto, who showed a fair amount of skill as he balanced his ramen cup and chopsticks, and caught the scroll. Kiro, meanwhile, had pushed passed him and was standing in the middle of Naruto's apartment. Naruto shut his door. It didn't seem like his new teammate was going anywhere.

"_You're_ a genin?"

"Hey! Well, actually I don't know. Just joined the shinobi forces today. Being tested tomorrow. But I'm probably around jounin level. Don't you ever take out the trash?"

"When I have the time. So why are you joining my team then?"

"Think of me as a second sensei."

That got Naruto's attention. Two sensei?

"Are you going to teach me cool jutsu?"

"Yeah, sure do you have a couch?"

"Uh, I live alone, so I don't really need a couch."

"But I'm living with you now. Well, I'll just have to" Kiro snapped his fingers and a squishy-looking leather couch faded into existence in the middle of Naruto's apartment. "This will work."

Naruto's ramen was forgotten. Now that was a jutsu. Who knew couch-summoning existed?

"That was so cool! Can you teach me that? I don't know if I'd ever need it, but come on! It's better than all the other stuff I've been learning, and-"

"Shut it, kid. I heard you were a shadow-chakra manipulator. You got any paper and ink around?"

"Yeah, I think so. But what does that have to do with what chakra I use?" Naruto asked, as he rummaged around his scrolls and blunted training weapons for the stack of blank tag paper he knew was around somewhere.

"Because I'm going to give you something." Kiro took a sheet of paper, and cleared off the table as Naruto handed him a brush and inkwell. After a bit of convincing form Kiro, Naruto bit his thumb, and added a few drops of blood to the ink. Naruto was transfixed as Kiro quickly brushed a series of characters that formed a circular seal onto the paper. He set down the brush, and handed the paper to Naruto.

"Channel chakra into it."

Naruto frowned, but did as we has asked. A book poofed into existence.

"This is the Compendium of Chaos. In it, is all the shadow-chakra jutsu I know, give or take a few. I grant it to you, to use as you please. I recommend trading techniques with the Nara, as they are the only other shadow users anywhere."

Naruto was puzzled. "Why is it called the Compendium of Chaos? And why are you giving it to me?"

Kiro smirked and said, "Because as your sensei I should pass on what I know. And you'll learn why it's called that soon enough." Kiro gave the book to Naruto, and told him good night as he flopped onto the couch. He would have to look for an apartment. He received a stipend from the Hokage to get himself started.

_:::_

Naruto was walking around the training ground, he had been reading the book that his new sensei had given him. To be honest he couldn't even begin to understand the stuff inside it. It was all theory, physics, and strategy. He decided to present it to the Nara, hoping that they could make use of it, and more importantly that they would help him use his shadow chakra better. With that, Naruto began his search. He started with the cloud watching hill that Shikamaru frequented.

Naruto eventually found Shikamaru playing shogi with Asuma near the local barbeque place that Naruto had taken a liking to recently.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto yelled as loud as he could.

Shikamaru knocked most of his pieces onto the floor, and almost fell over himself. He was not amused, but Asuma sure was.

"What is it Naruto? I'm a bit too busy to go pranking, and I don't have any ramen for you."

Naruto frowned. "That's not all I do! I was going to give you a book of shadow jutsu and ask for a favour, but I guess I'll just" He didn't get to finish as Asuma rushed over to him, and told him to tell him all about this book.

Naruto frowned. "It's just a book of chakra theory, and strategies for shadow use."

Shikamaru sighed. "That doesn't matter. Shadow chakra is a closely guarded secret, and thus a book on its use means that it's either a spy's notes, or property of the Nara clan. However, neither applies to this situation, which means we'll have to speak with my clan."

He peered at Asuma, and added, "Alone."

Asuma got the point, and nodded. Naruto looked a little confused, but agreed to follow his old friend, and new ally.

_:::_

Kiro looked up at his proctors Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuuhi, and some green-suited weirdo he'd never seen before. They appeared to be standing around waiting for him. Gai was the first to notice the weird rippling squirrel, and he was shocked to see it growing into a man. Kurenai was watching him intently, and Kakashi didn't seem to notice much beyond his book.

"It is I: Kiro Tenma, master of the shadow!"

Kakashi snorted in amusement, while Gai smiled and flashed a thumbs-up in his direction.

Kurenai spoke up first. "Well, Kiro-kouhai, for your first test we are all going to fight you There are Anbu hidden around in strategic locations, they will be the one's gauging your skill levels."

Kurenai faced Kiro. "We will fight first."

Kiro snapped his fingers, and seemed to waver a bit. Kurenai attacked warily. She sent a barrage of shuriken, while making seals with her right hand. Several of the shuriken hit, though they only seemed to pass right through him, as if he was made of clay. Kiro smirked and threw a punch at her. Kurenai was about to dodge when Gai yelled something at her.

"Kure...moe, gib boult reef. Gah vool rah man!"

Kurenai was utterly confused. 'Has he gone crazy... Er, well crazier?'

She was able to dodge the punch easily, but something hit her in the stomach, and sent her flying. Gai was still yelling at Kurenai. Her opponent's arms had gotten a lot longer, and she didn't seem to notice. Kakashi winced after seeing Kurenai get hit. Kiro charged Kurenai as she was down, but she managed to recover in time to counter his attack. He wasn't affected at all by any of the genjutsu she was casting, in fact it seemed like he didn't notice them at all. Kurenai found that sharp weapons were useless, as they just passed through him. But a good punch seemed to rattle him well enough.

Hoping to catch him off-guard, she signaled to Gai who sprang into Kiro's path, punching and gave her a chance to escape. She walked back to where Kakashi was standing, and wished Gai luck. 'Taijutsu seems to be at least somewhat effective on him, so Gai should stand a greater chance of defeating him.' Gai stood before what he hoped would be youthfully splendid challenger.

_:::_

Naruto was standing before the Nara clan counsel.

Shikaku stood in the front. "We heard you have a book."

Some of the elders behind him grumbled, a few were snoring, and several were busy playing shogi. Shikamaru groaned in embarrassment.

One of the elders in the back cleared his throat. "Uh, yes... er, it has shadow jutsu in it?"

Naruto nodded. There was more grumbling, but the snoring stopped as some of the Nara women were going around waking them up. Those playing games were glared at.

Naruto spoke up when the grumbling seemed to mellow out. "I'm willing to trade you for it, so long as you teach me to better use my shadow chakra."

Shikaku thought for a bit. "I suppose that's a good trade, I mean we only have like five jutsu, and no real ban on teaching outsiders on how to better use the abilities they already have... However, we will have to vote on this as it involves bending clan rules."

The grumbling started again, only this time in general agreement. Shikaku told Naruto that he was welcome to go with Shikamaru to play ninja in the garden while the _adults _were talking. Shikamaru glared at his dad, and was about to say something, though Naruto was already dragging him out of the room.

"What's something fun to do?"

Shikamaru just glared in the general direction of his father for a while, but eventually he replied.

"I suppose we could watch clouds, or have a quick shogi match."

Naruto quirked his head. "What's shogi, is it a hidden flavour of ramen known only to the Nara?"

Shikamaru groaned, and covered his face with his hand.

_:::_

"You seem to burn with the Flames of Youth! Though it is usually quite unyouthful to use such trickery, I suppose when you're fighting the resident genjutsu mistress a little trickery is a good thing."

Gai smiled brightly as he charged his opponent. Though his smile dimmed a little when he noticed that he didn't seem to understand how melee combat is fought. Kiro groaned, and got up after Gai had tore through his feeble defences for the nine-teenth time. Though he smirked when he noticed that they were getting close to the forest. Gai noticed his opponent's smirk, and correctly deduced that he was being led into a trap. However, Gai was never one to back down from a challenge, and sent him flying straight into the trees.

His smile fell when he lost track of Kiro.

Against his better instincts Gai wandered out of the clearing. As soon as he passed the treeline he was hit in the back of the head with a black bat. Gai was more than used to such punishment, and immediately spun around to find... nothing. He backed up slowly, though sure enough, was hit once more. This time it was hard enough to send him into a tree. With a groan, Gai got back up. Though a little disoriented, he was able to find the path back out of the forest. It seemed like every step he took invited another hit from behind. By the time Gai managed to get back to the clearing he was in no shape to continue.

Gai looked at Kiro with awe. "What was that most youthful jutsu you were using?"

Kiro looked at the mess of a man. "Shadow step, I just fade into the shadows. When I'm in there, any and every shadow becomes a doorway that I can walk through."

Gai nodded. "It reminds me of the Hiraishin!"

"I guess that it's my turn now." Kakashi said blandly, though Gai noticed that it was flatter than his usual bored tone.

The moment the fight started Kiro was hit by a fire jutsu, which was followed by Kakashi using his chidori. Kiro was not able to dodge the jutsu, and was pretty much ripped in half by the technique. Kiro's arm seemed to lengthen, and it quickly became a bat. Kiro swung it at Kakashi, but the attack was easily dodged. Kakashi launched another fire jutsu at him, but Kiro managed to use the smoke as a distraction to hit Kakashi. A dented log flew very close to an Anbu's head. Kiro was looking all over for Kakashi, but wasn't able to notice the hand reaching for his ankle until it was too late. Kakashi pulled Kiro into the dirt, and then he hardened it so Kiro couldn't escape.

"Doton: shinjuu zanshu no jutsu."

_:::_

Naruto was standing before the Nara clan counsel once again.

Shikaku spoke up. "We have summoned you here to tell you that the Nara are willing to accept your deal. However, we have a condition. None of the counsel members will train you, mostly because we feel that we have... more important things to do. So we've delegated this responsibility to Shika-chan. You will always have asylum within these walls, and we hope that in time you will come to see us as more than allies. We hope that clan Uzumaki will consider the Nara to be kin. You have given us a priceless treasure, and for that we are in your debt... Naruto-dono."

Naruto was speechless.

Shikamaru was at first annoyed at how lazy the counsel was, but then the enormity of what his father had said sunk in. Granting someone permanent asylum was as good as saying that they will side with them in event of a civil war! Shikamaru was able to guess that Naruto was an orphan, but his father confirmed it when he referred to Naruto respectfully: -dono was the typical form of address between clan heads.

Shikaku continued. "While Shikamaru is tutoring you with the use of shadow, it would be wise for you to assist in his development as well... The two of you are going to be the heads of you respective clans, and political allies. It is in the best interest of both of you to form a bond. The Nara look out for their friends, and from what I can tell you are fiercely loyal."

Naruto nodded, Shikaku smiled, and dismissed the two of them.

One of the elders in the back smirked. "Way to play to the demon's sensibilities, we can bleed his usefulness dry, and end him when the time is right!"

Shikaku looked over his shoulder with disappointment in his eyes. "...And here I thought you were supposed to be one of the wisest elders." Shikaku glared at him, and shadows leaked from the ceiling. The elder resisted as best he could, but he was no match for the combined might of the Nara. A Nara who turned their back on an ally had no right to be called a Nara.

When the shadows retracted all that remained was bones of a traitor. They would be sent out to the woods for the foxes to gnaw on. Shikaku smirked at that thought.

_:::_

Kakashi strolled over to the other side of the clearing, brushing dirt of his pants as he went. The Anbu gathered as well, and compared notes. Gai brought Kiro back to the grouping.

"We have concluded that you have Chuunin level combat utility. Congratulations."

Kiro was outraged, and Kurenai was trying very hard not to laugh at her kouhai's murderous expression. You could see her fighting an amused smile.

"I demand you reconsider at once!"

The Anbu Captain just faced Kiro, she smirked behind her mask. "Relax, we have yet to catalogue, or test your speciality. You could very well be Special Jounin material."

Kiro had a dark look on his face.

"What is your speciality, and why do you consider yourself to be such?"

"I am an infiltration specialist: I consider myself to be that way because I am a master of illusion, I have a near flawless transformation jutsu, and I am rather skilled when it comes to stealth. I am also an excellent strategist, a gifted tracker, and my offensive abilities are primarily short range melee burst damage techniques."

The Anbu captain smirked.

"That's the textbook definition of what an infiltrator is, but let's see if you can live up to your hype. I will place three scrolls in different places around the village, your mission is to locate all of them before sunset. As it stands, you have about three hours."

Kiro nodded, and waited until he got the signal to begin. He managed to get the first scroll by transforming back into a squirrel, and tailing a rookie Anbu squad. He had no idea where the next scroll could be hidden, so he transformed into a rather buxom young girl wearing the typical courier uniform. In this form Kiro was able to walk right in to the most heavily guarded areas in the village, and gather information must faster. He caught wind of a scroll that was delivered to the Chuunin outpost on the southern rampart. With a quick glance to get his bearings, Kiro shifted to a spot near the outpost. With a flourish, he rippled into the form of a weasel. Kiro scurried into the base through a drain, and ran through the shadows. He spotted the scroll, and snatched it. The moment he grabbed it, he shifted back to where he was earlier.

No matter what he did, no information surfaced about the final scroll. Suddenly, Kiro was hit with inspiration. If he was the one giving the test, he knew exactly where he'd put the last scroll. Kiro stealthily crept behind the Anbu captain, and with a snap of his finger, shifted the scroll to join the other two. The Anbu captain spun around, and ran her sword through Kiro. Kiro waved at her in an odd way, and the next thing she knew it looked like she was underwater. Ripples filled her vision, and all the sounds around her were warped. When the world seemed to normalize Kiro was gone. She looked down and saw a crude drawing of what she looked like under her mask. She would have to give a report of this to the Hokage. Kiro brought the scrolls back to the clearing just as the sun was starting to set.

Kurenai smirked. "Took you long enough."

Kiro glared at her. One of the Anbu proctors cleared his throat. "You have tested well within the standard level for a Special Jounin, and as such your file will reflect your new rank. Once again, congratulations."

Kiro was fuming, but accepted his placement.

"You are dismissed!"

Kiro bowed, and transported away.

...To be continued


	7. Chapter Six

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Six: Dude, sandbags are 'Da' Bomb!

Naruto and his team were walking out of the village. They had just been assigned their first C-ranked mission, and they were headed south to Sea Country. Kakashi's team had run into trouble on their C-ranked mission to the Land of Waves, but they managed to take down several enemy ninja and fulfil the terms of the contract with minimal injuries.

However, Team Kurenai had been hired by the local Daimyō to protect a supply ship from Kirigakure pirates. Within Kiri itself they were known as the 'Blood Scavengers,' and as long as they swore loyalty to the Mizukage, and shared a percentage of their 'acquired goods,' they were granted port and a certain amount of political immunity. However, they were by no means officially recognized by Kirigakure, and the very same blind eye that allowed them free reign to terrorize the high seas would be the source of their downfall.

Politically speaking, Kiri could not provide any assistance to them should they find themselves in danger. Nor could Kiri demand retribution for their deaths without being forced to either acknowledge the practice diplomatically and then stop the practice entirely, or declare war on the other Shinobi nations. Kirigakure is was still recovering from fighting a civil war, and is was in no position to declare war on a single hidden village, let alone a majority of them. So Kiri at this moment is was playing a dangerous game: their rogue navy brings them much needed supplies and money, but they cannot provide any assistance to them, or maintain the practice indefinitely without recognizing that they exist in the first place. As long as Kiri remained officially unaware of the pirates, the two groups can could exchange goods under the table, bypassing the red tape of Mizu and international trade laws. However, the Mizukage could not order any direct military actions for, or against, the pirates as long as they remained officially unrecognized. And, as per the Kiri/Konoha Treaty Agreement, the Mizukage would be obligated to exact punishment against them, should any representative of Konoha be harmed by the pirates.

"Isn't politics fun, kids?" Kiro had finished his little lecture on the delicate situation they were plunging into, just as they were getting ready to stop for the night. Naruto looked at him inquisitively.

"This mission seems more like a B, or A-ranked mission to me. Why was it assigned to us, and especially as a C-rank?"

Kiro thought for a bit, and said, "I don't know, ask Kurenai. She'd know."

None of the genin were amused. Shino looked up from the ant hill he was inspecting.

"I am quite sure it was because we will be on guard duty, against a minor threat. A _very _unlikely minor threat at that."

Hinata spoke up this time.

"But my f-father told me that pi-pirates can be as deadly as ninja. And attacks in this area are ra-rather common..."

Shino quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, but we are ninja, and have access to fire jutsu. If there's one thing all sea-goers fear, I'd imagine it's fire. They would essentially be helpless in the event of a major fire."

Naruto saw the flaw in his logic.

"Shino, these are Kiri pirates we're talking about. They're bound to know at least a few water jutsu."

Shino reflected on that.

"That is indeed a possibility that I overlooked, however my initial assessment is still valid. We are more than enough to deter any attacks, and if worse comes to worse... we have two Jōnin to back us up."

Kiro nodded.

"Technically you have one Jōnin, and a _Special _Jōnin," Kurenai corrected him, and Kiro rolled his eyes. Kurenai continued to address her team, "We have this mission because, a, there's only really one pirate per ship that would actually be a threat to us, and I am more than able to deal with the Captain's Blood-Guard. And b, the rest of the crew will be comparable to run-of-the-mill bandits, and you all are more than ready to deal with them."

Kiro looked up from the tent he was untangling.

"And if necessary I can infiltrate the crew, and take them down from the inside."

Kurenai nodded.

"Right, you all seem to know how to set up camp. Now take everything down, and put it all back ... you have ten minutes!"

Kiro looked outraged.

"But we just got here!"

Kurenai stared at him.

"Are you disobeying a direct order?"

Kiro just glared at her, then snapped his fingers and his stuff collapsed into nothingness.

"Fine."

Kurenai addressed her team, again, once they finished.

"We will continue into the night, this was just a test."

With a bit of grumbling, then genin started their journey again.

_:::_

Finally reaching the port city, Kurenai had to work to keep her team, or at least Naruto and Kiro, focused on the mission. "We still have some business to do here, for starters we need to charter a ship. You three follow Kiro, you'll be stocking up on supplies for our voyage, while I handle the transportation."

Kurenai lead the way into town. Kiro found the ship that Kurenai chartered, and took the opportunity to nap. Before Kurenai could come back and find her kouhai shirking his duties. He had just gotten to the good part of a dream -chasing rabbits- when someone toed him in the side. Kiro shot a glare at Naruto, who was carrying a huge amount of rope. Shino was close behind, carrying what looked like a sack of potatoes, and Hinata was carrying a basket of herbs. Kurenai seemed pleased as she inspected all of the supplies, until she found Kiro's stash of booze.

"What? We're going to be at sea, and for far too long I might add..."

Kurenai just tuned him out. Kiro snapped his finger, and his hat rippled. It was replaced with an absurd captain's hat, and He pulled a pipe out of his pocket.

"I hereby declare myself captain of this fine vessel..." Kiro peeked at the back of the ship.

"The LSV Thunder Maple!"

Naruto was rolling around in laughter. Kiro jumped on to the dock, and waved for the genin to follow.

With that, the team made there way to sea.

When they had finally gotten underway, Naruto had been sent up to the crow's nest to stand guard, and watch for potential hazards. After a few hours of looking through a spy glass, he spotted a fleet. He rang the bell, and the next thing he knew Kiro was next to him peering in the right direction.

"They're about thirty clicks from the normal trade route, so they're probably either smugglers, or pirates... Good job, kid!"

Kiro appeared to think for a bit.

"Naruto, tell Kurenai that she's the standing captain 'til I get back... _If _I get back, that is. I'm going to infiltrate the nearest ship. Better do it before they spot us."

Naruto solemnly agreed. With a jump, and a twist Naruto flew from his post.

_:::_

Kiro shifted into sight on one of the life boats. He wondered one last time about how best to deal with the situation. Eventually he settled on good old fashioned subterfuge. He rippled into the form of a busty, yet haggard young woman. With an evil grin he hopped on deck, hoping to be caught. He was in luck. A rather uncouth looking deckhand regarded him lustily.

"Waz a purdy broad be doing 'ere? I ought make you not purdy no more!"

The moment he got close enough Kiro grabbed onto the poor sap. With a smirk, and a snap the two were surrounded by ripples. Kiro peered into the simpleton's mind, hoping that he would give him a juicy tidbit. However, he found the man lacked any authority that he could use ... or any information he could steal. Within the time distortion, Kiro pushed the man off the boat. Due to the distortion the man wouldn't even make a noise when he hit the water. Kiro sighed, and just walked up to a door and knocked. The captain blinked at the vision of beauty before him.

"Er, yes?"

Kiro snapped his fingers. However, his distortion was interrupted by hot lead going through his well endowed chest. With a quirk of his well sculpted eyebrow, Kiro kicked the bewildered captain in the privates. The captain's groan was cut short by Kiro forcing his head into the door-frame with as much force as his dainty form would allow. Kiro frowned, he couldn't think of a good way to sink the ship. Normally he would have just burnt it into ciders, but he couldn't access his hellfire techniques. He snapped his finger while grabbing on to the captain's jacket, and Kiro, now the perfect replica of the captain, found himself in the magazine/gunpowder room. He dropped the captain, and hastily shoved him behind some boxes. Kiro snapped his fingers, and shifted into the captain's chambers. He walked to the helm, and called his first mate over.

"A situation has arisen, we must regroup with the rest of the fleet. I have much to tell them!"

The first mate looked a bit suspicious, but got to work. As soon as their ship had pulled along side the flagship, Kiro walked the plank over to the flagship, he had a plan... though by no means a good one. The Fleet Admiral peered at his colleague.

"You are not Negi... He never walked the plank, he always used a rope swing. What have you done with my brother!"

Kiro-Negi smirked.

"That... is of little importance, but the deal I have for you is certainly not. I can give you a bag of magic sand, more power than you can ever imagine is locked inside of it."

The Admiral glared at him.

"Reinforcements will be patrolling these waters shortly, even if what you say is the truth, the best I can offer you is a few hours of life before they kill you."

Kiro sighed, he was looking forward to plundering the pirates.

"You have two choices: accept my generous offer, which will ensure that no blood is spilt... or attack me, and I'll make as much of a mess as I can before your 'reinforcements' arrive."

The Admiral, unsheathed his sword. Kiro frowned and waved his hand at the crew that rallied behind the Admiral. Their heads spun around, and vicious cracks were heard from all around. The Admiral scowled confusedly.

"A simple illusion that gave them the extreme urge to bite their own ear. All it takes is a little chakra to their neck muscles to generate enough force to well, I'm sure you have figured that out."

The chorus of gurgles and death throes echoing around them drove the Admiral into greater heights of rage. The Admiral slashed at Kiro with a mighty swing. The blade sliced into a sandbag. The Admiral didn't even have enough time to think the word kawarimi before being ripped apart by an incredible force.

the fleet and the surrounding ocean exploded into chaos, Kiro began to think that this plan may have been a _really _bad idea...

The fact he could see the seeds of a major tsunami headed in every direction from the epicentre was troubling him. Kiro knew he had no choice, he had to call upon his dormant power. He felt the power rushing through him, and it was like he had never been bound to this form, he was one with the force of chaos again. With all his will, he directed his new-found might, but realized with a start, that this would leave him worse off than he had been before. But he had given his word, and was obligated to go through with it, unless he wanted to go against everything he was to betray that. He filled the water with his chakra, and commanded it to halt.

Satisfied that he lessened the impact of the tsunami, he passed out from the exertion, and floated into darkness.

...To be continued


	8. Chapter Seven

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Seven: Genius Loci.

Kiro woke to the sound of cheerful violins, groaning as he tried to get up. He opened his eyes to see a field with lovely dancing ladies, and a large maze that seemed to stretch on forever. Kiro stood up and brushed himself off, thinking he'd take another look around.

He only saw more of the same: everywhere he looked there were dancers and violinists, with the maze lurking behind them.

This place just felt odd to him ... unnatural, and sinister. Kiro knew something was seriously wrong.

He tried asking the dancers where he was, yet they only danced. Never halting, never tiring. Their entire existence seemed to consist only of dancing and silent merriment. They didn't even seem to notice him.

The players only played.

The dancers only danced.

All were stuck within a joyful loop.

As Kiro wandered towards the maze, an ominous breeze flowed through its leaves. Near the entrance there was a sign, it read: ___Tell me this, and tell me well: What did the hanged man, see once he fell?_

Kiro thought for a second. "My daughter," he answered.

Nothing happened.

With profound disappointment, Kiro walked passed the sign. He didn't notice, but deep within the maze there was a stirring...

___He should pay more attention to what's occurring._

After twenty minutes of walking Kiro came upon a fork in the path, with a sign in the middle. This one read: ___Tell me this, and tell me well: Where are we, if not hell?_

Confounded, Kiro struggled to come up with an answer. "Err, heaven?" he finally answered.

The sign faded, and Kiro was left with the feeling that he answered incorrectly. Kiro was getting a little angry. "What is this place!"

The sign reappeared, but its message had changed.

___I am he, and he alone. Do not flee, you have come home._

___Of those who ride, upon the sea: All of them, shall come to me._

Kiro wondered at that, but asked a new question. "Where are we?"

The sign changed once more.

___You are now, within this place. Where all you see, is but my face._

___Here is where, in shades of green. Nothing is quite, as it seems._

___You are here, you have gone down ... Yet do not fear, and do not frown._

The rhyming was beginning to annoy Kiro, and he asked, frustrated, "Where are ___you__? ____What _are you?"

___There you go, fit as a fiddle. When we meet, it shall be in the middle._

Kiro was tired of this game, he decided to head right and leave the damned signs alone. After several hours of travel, he groaned as he came upon a new sign.

___I have seen, so many things. All of them, within these rings._

He again wondered at the bizarreness of his situation, though he kept going, until he came upon a garden.

A being stood at its centre, and Kiro noticed that something was... _off_... about _it_.

Then he realized that its head was turned around, like an owl.

It smiled in a way that showed it didn't quite understand what a smile is, or how to properly contort its face into one. Its eyes burned into Kiro and the echoes of a phrase bounced around his mind. It had no sound, or tone of voice.

___Now you come, to me at last. Your death will not, be that fast. _

Kiro wasn't sure if it was a thought of his own creation, or something put there by the 'man' before him. Kiro snapped his finger, but nothing happened. The being twisted its body until its head was properly lined up, and was facing Kiro.

___My godly guest, your power is gone. 'Tis a shame too, you were the best._

Kiro frowned, he was out of his element. He charged the thing in the maze, but his strikes had no effect.

___I cannot die, you will not win. You are not, without sin._

"Shut up, that is the most annoying thing ever! It in no way, makes you seem clever!"

Kiro sighed, that ___thing _was messing with his mind. Kiro focused on his surroundings, trying to understand his opponent. He saw that one part of the garden looked to be favoured above the rest. With a smirk Kiro walked over to it, and brought up his leg up to squash the flowers.

The being's eyes seemed to burn with an even greater intensity. Kiro could almost feel the hate directed at him.

___Enough! You have won... good for you._

The being waved his hand, a door faded into existence.

___Yet, the door is closed. What will you do?_

It looked at Kiro with an odd expression.

___Take heart, few get a second chance. Now begone!_

The being walked over to the flower cluster, and faded into it. As he turned, he waved good-bye. Kiro almost missed the true smile that graced the being's lips.

He then turned his attention to the door, a sign was nailed to it.

___Choose wisely my friend. People come, and people go, but none stay on this plateau._

___Either way, it does not matter in the end._

___My question is this, and this alone: Which place, shall you make your home?_

Kiro sighed. He had to decide whether to retire, or go back to work ... and he knew there was only one answer to that question: he gave his word, and he might be the king of warlocks... but his word is one of the few things he has left.

Kiro sighed, he was tired.

He'd like nothing more than to stay, and find his family, but he still had unfinished business. With a wistful look into the distance, Kiro opened the door.

...To be continued.

Until next time!

-James Tuddrussell


	9. Chapter Eight

Will of the Oath Breaker, Chapter Eight: Repercussions.

Kiro groaned as he woke up. He felt like crap.

Hinata worriedly looked in Kiro's direction. She had been tending to him the most, though only because somewhere along the line, she became the team medic. Kiro groaned as he sat down on a chair. He searched around the inner pockets of his coat. He pulled out a scroll with the number four prominently displayed. He tossed it to Hinata, and winked at her.

Shino sent a mushi-bunshin to adjust the main sail as he steered eastward. Naruto had notified him of approaching ships, and by his calculations they would reach them in less than thirty minutes. Shino's clone went over to Kiro to tell him of the situation. Kiro frowned.

"I'm in no shape to handle more pirates, especially southern pirates. We have two options: lighten the load, and hope we can out run them, or we can turn this ship around, and bring the fight to them."

The clone looked mildly irritated. An odd buzzing came from it, and then it dissolved into a mass of kikaichu. Shino relayed the plan to Kurenai for approval, and she gave the order to prepare for battle. Kurenai sighed, her Genin hadn't even had a proper ninja battle yet, and they were about to engage in full on naval warfare. Kiro pulled out a cigar, and waved at Kurenai to talk with him. As Kurenai walked over, she noticed he was smoking. She rightly took this as a bad sign.

Kiro leaned over, and let out a long puff of smoke, "We have almost no chance of winning, and only a slight chance of escaping. I am nearly useless as a fighter, though I can still captain this ship, and give advice."

Kurenai frowned as Kiro fished around in his pockets for one of the errant bottles of rum.

"The seas are calm today, and there's little wind to speak of. The tides are working against them, but they have oarsman. We have about six minutes before we bump into each other... We should make the best of it."

Kurenai nodded. "Yes, but what do you suggest? My first thought is to turn around once more to buy more time. However, that would put us in a disadvantageous position. If we want to win this we'll need to hit them head on."

"I want you to teach Hinata a water jutsu, certainly you know one that can be learned in under five minutes. Also, tell Shino that I'll be taking over his position!"

Kiro wobbled a bit as he got up. "I'll get Naruto, I need him to help me prepare the ship for battle."

Naruto channelled a good bit of chakra into the bokken that Kiro handed him. "Why am I doing this exactly"

Kiro smirked as he picked up the wooden sword, and stabbed it into the ship. "Simple: I couldn't have done it myself, and the others can't spare the chakra."

Naruto frowned. "What I meant was, why is channelling chakra into this bokken so important?"

Kiro rolled his eyes. "Then why didn't you say that in the first place?"

Kiro pointed at the bokken. "This is a sword carved form the bark of the World Tree, it is inlaid with an assortment of runes. It is the great-"

"The short version please, we're on the clock you know!" Naruto interrupted him.

Kiro scowled at him. "Fine. This weapon is very powerful, the spell binds the sword and the ship into one entity, thus making the sword weaker in exchange for making the ship stronger. However, we have less than an hour before it wears off... Which will sink the ship."

Kiro glanced at Kurenai. "Naruto tell your sensei to treat all the pirates as if they were chūnin or higher."

"Why?"

Kiro smirked. "Because they might as well be for all the power they wield."

Naruto was about to say something, but Kiro interrupted him. "Kekkei Genkai."

Naruto frowned. He might not understand all the details, but he knew that folk with bloodline limits could be troublesome when you're not on their side.

Kiro pulled out his spyglass, and was shocked to find he no longer needed it. He ran to the wheel to relieve Shino. Kurenai ordered the genin to prepare the cannons. The pirate fleet was herding them. Three on each side, and two behind. The flagship, and several non-battle oriented ships stayed clear. Close enough to send orders, or reinforcements if needed, but far enough away to avoid cannon fire.

Kiro smirked. "Naruto, send a pulse of chakra into the sword!"

When the fusion was activated Kiro steeply banked starboard. The pirates attempted evasive manoeuvres, but were too close. The Thunder Maple crashed into the ship nearest it, and the ship behind that one rammed into them. The jolt sent most of their cannons overboard.

Kurenai glared at Naruto. "I told you to fasten the cannons!"

Naruto blinked. "I did..."

Kurenai was interrupted by cannonballs flying in her direction. After dodging the projectiles. Kurenai, and Naruto jumped onto the first ship. While they were doing that, Shino stood on the deck of the Thunder Maple while his bugs wreaked havoc aboard the rear vessel. Hinata stood behind Kiro, and kept watch over her teammates. She saw that Shino was handling things well, and that Kurenai, and Naruto were having a bit of trouble. However the more pressing matter was the other ships that were fast approaching.

"Um, Kiro-sensei... What should we do about the other ships?

Kiro looked where she was pointing, and groaned.

"See if you can hold them off... Kurenai taught you a jutsu, so use it!"

Kiro took a deep breath, and tried to think of a plan. A fireball passing dreadfully close to his head put an end to that.

"...Uh, right. Hide..."

Kiro jumped behind some barrels of water.

Kiro snapped his finger... but the only effect it had was to send a jolt of pain up his arm, and to make an odd buzzing noise.

"...Crap." Kiro sighed.

"Aright think. The pirates are as a whole very powerful, but they lack any real training. We have had proper training, and are somewhat powerful... though we lack significant numbers. This means that they are most likely going to attack hard, fast, and with as many fighters as they can manage in an attempt to overwhelm us. Shino is at an advantage because of his little buddies, though if they have anyone with a large enough chakra capacity, or good enough stealth, or just someone fast enough to get to him before he gets to them then he is finished. Hinata can hold off the other ships for a while, but she can't keep it up forever..."

Kiro rolled out of the way as a cannonball ripped through the barrels.

"And they have working cannons, speaking of which..."

Kiro peered over his cover to see only one active cannon on deck.

"What? Where's the cannons!"

Kurenai yelled from her position as she dodged a wave of blood. "They fell off the ship after your genius plan!"

She turned her attention back to the little old lady who smirked like a monster as she commanded a wave of blood to attack once more. Kiro thought about the situation.

"Those cannons were more than adequately tied down less than ten minutes ago, which means... _sabotage!"_

Kiro looked around the ship suspiciously. As he was focusing on his surroundings, he noticed a subtle distortion in the chakra field: It was growing. Kiro brought his hands up, and began absorbing the chakra. However he was interrupted by a sword tearing through his chest.

"...Damn."

...To be continued

The next few chapters are going to be a bit different. I'm going to focus more on Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai and Naruto.

There's going to be at least two chapters taking place at roughly the same time... Mostly because there's a lot going on right now, and I want to bring some of the interesting things into focus without having too many POV shifts.

They have about... oh say, forty-five minutes left before the ship falls apart. They're about a fortnight away from where they're going, but they do have some life boats... At least for now.

-James Tuddrussell


End file.
